Genesys Products - Empower

Japan	Korea	Taiwan	China	Russia

Genesys Empower is an economical choice for increasing the accuracy of SMT designs, routine filters and active circuits, and equivalent circuit-modeling within the Genesys environment.

Empower is a planar-3D electromagnetic simulator that improves the accuracy of smaller planar circuits and models having rectangular features, such as RF boards with SMT pads and interconnects. It saves board turns and enhances the task of circuit modeling. While a wider variety of higher-capacity, higher-performance designs may be solved more effectively with the Momentum GX, Empower is a proven tool for smaller problems that is available at an affordable price.

• It has a convenient user interface and integration which allows circuit co-simulation, sweeps, and Monte Carlo with linear, nonlinear, Spice, and RF system simulators
• It has been proven in use by nearly 1000 designers over the last decade
• Current owners of Empower are also invited to explore Momentum GX

Product Overview

Genesys Empower is an economical choice for increasing the accuracy of SMT designs, routine filters, active circuits, and equivalent circuit-modeling within the Genesys environment.

Empower uses the proven Method of Lines technique and provides multi-level EM simulation; multi-level, multi-mode decomposition; and EM-circuit co-simulation

Empower uses a Method of Lines (MOL) technique to simulate MIC and MMIC structures with better accuracy than circuit theory simulation.  The MOL technique has excellent convergence and numeric conditioning properties which form a strong foundation for code optimization and enhancement.

Product Features

• Automatic Handling of Lumped Elements
• Flexible Geometries
• Generalized S-Parameters
• 3D Viewer with Dynamic Phase Rotation Plots
• Method of Lines
• Real Time Tuning Techniques
• Automatic Detection and Solution with Symmetry
• Large Problems and Decomposition
• Accurate Loss Computation
• Box Modes and Package Effects
• Benchmarked Accuracy
• Slot Mode for Slot and Coplanar Circuits
• Port De-embedding and Reference Planes

Automatic Handling of Lumped Elements

Empower places internal ports at the location of each lumped element in the circuit, computes S-parameters for the n-port, and Genesys then computes the response with lumped elements reinstalled. The entire process is handled automatically by the Genesys environment. Accuracy is maintained because all signal metal segments are present in the enclosure and their coupling is simulated. Because many lumped elements are often present in a circuit this saves effort without compromising accuracy.

list of product features

Flexible Geometries

EM simulation supports unconventional metal shapes and more complex substrate layering such as suspended, inverted and covered microstrip.

list of product features

Generalized S-Parameters

S-parameters are typically normalized to a constant impedance such as 50 or 75 ohms. From a measurement standpoint this is mandatory. With Empower you also have the option of normalizing S-parameters to the simulated line impedance. This technique reduces much of the error associated with assuming a limited number of simulation cells across the width of transmission lines. This also is handled automatically in Genesys which creates and reads the files required to support generalized S-parameters.

list of product features

3D Viewer with Dynamic Phase Rotation Plots

EMPOWER includes a 3D color viewer to help you visualize current density (voltage in slotline mode) in your circuit. The viewer processes both the magnitude and angle of currents and displays them as static and dynamic plots. These plots provide insight and help you discover modifications for improved performance. Most EM simulators offer a viewer, but the Empower viewer provides dynamic views with precise phase information. Shown to the right is the current viewer plot of a meander line. Click here for a larger animated view (372 KB). This view shows the magnitude of currents along the meander line at one frequency.

list of product features

Method of Lines

EM simulation is numerically expensive and execution is slower than circuit theory simulation. Empower is based on the Method of Lines (MoL). The MoL is well behaved numerically. This allows a number of code optimization techniques which were used to speed execution.

list of product features

Real Time Tuning Techniques

Automatic lumped element configuration, automatic detection and solution with symmetry and multimode decomposition make optimization and tuning faster and more convenient. For example, a simple and powerful technique available for filter structures with vias (such as the one to the right) is to run Empower without the vias. The filter structure is non-resonant and only a few frequencies are run. Vias are replaced by Genesys and hundreds of frequency points may be displayed resulting in fine sweep detail. Decomposition may be used to optimize and tune spiral inductors and meander lines as fast as circuit theory simulators.

list of product features

Automatic Detection and Solution with Symmetry

Halving the size of a problem effectively reduces the execution time and memory requirements by a factor of 4. With most EM simulators you may divide some symmetrical circuits into two sections, simulate, and combine the networks back together. Empower automatically detects symmetry and solves all symmetrical circuits. It even detects 2-mirror symmetry for a time and memory savings of 16X. You don’t need to take special steps - the entire process is automatic. If a metal segment is placed slightly off symmetry Empower even specifies where it is located.

list of product features

Large Problems and Decomposition

With multimode support it is often possible to break large circuits into smaller sections, thus making EM simulation feasible for circuits which would otherwise be too large. This can be done while retaining non-adjacent line coupling for circuits such as filters, spiral inductors and meander lines.

list of product features

Accurate Loss Computation

Empower computes metal, dielectric and radiation loss with high accuracy. Circuit theory simulators do not predict radiation loss and some EM simulators are not well behaved in the prediction of loss with respect to the number of simulation cells across the transmission line. With Empower the loss of structures is accurately predicted for both enclosed circuits and boxes with open or lossy covers.

list of product features

Box Modes and Package Effects

Have you ever designed an amplifier, paying careful attention to the stability factor, only to have it oscillate despite all your precautions? Have you fought poor ultimate rejection in filter stopbands? Have you fought spurious signals which aren’t reduced by filtering? A common cause of these problems is box modes.

An enclosed box acts like a cavity resonator. This can have a profound influence on the circuit behavior. While some EM simulators assume an “open” environment, Empower inherently predicts these effects.

At frequencies near each resonance, signal metal radiates efficiently into the cavity. Because this radiation is reciprocal coupling occurs between metal segments in the signal path. If the circuit is run with an open or lossy cover then resonance effects are reduced. In this case Empower accurately predicts surface modes which limit the ultimate rejection in the circuit.

list of product features

Benchmarked Accuracy

Several accuracy benchmarks versus measurements are given in the EMPOWER manual. Empower also compares favorably with theoretical problems with known exact solutions. A benchmark was proposed by Rautio, "An Ultra-High Precision Benchmark for Validation of Planar Electromagnetic Analysis", IEEE MTT Trans., November, 1994, p. 2046-2050. Empower performs exceptionally well with this benchmark and accuracy can be further enhanced using Richardson’s extrapolation technique because of the monotonic convergence properties of the Method of Lines.

list of product features

Slot Mode for Slot and Coplanar Circuits

Typical circuits are sparse in circuit metal and are best simulated by solving for current in the metal. Other circuits such as slotline and coplanar have significant metal coverage and are more efficiently solved using the slotline mode in Empower. Rather than solving for current in the metal region voltage is solved in the non-metal regions. This saves significant computational effort and reduces the required time and memory.

list of product features

Port De-embedding and Reference Planes

When a line approaches the box sidewall there is additional capacitance from the line to “ground”. Empower automatically removes this effect for Normal ports. This is called de-embedding and is done because the simulated object may be used as a part of another circuit and the wall is not present. If you want to move the reference planes for the Empower run you may simply drag them to the desired location using the mouse. Empower also lets you turn off de-embedding to analyze a circuit in a box with sidewalls.

list of product features

Online Demos and Tutorials

• Empower Walkthrough - March 2003
• Low-Noise Amplifier Design with Genesys - March 2003
• Tuned Combline Filter with Empower Cosimulation - March 2003
• Hybrid Coplanar Bandstop Filter with Empower, Illustrates Unique 3D Empower Capabilities: Bondwires, Hybrid Slot Mode - March 2003
• Custom Filter Topology with Empower Viewer - March 2003
• M/Filter and Empower Combline Walkthrough - March 2003
• Edge Coupled Filter Empower Benchmark - March 2003
• Sonnet Integration Demo - August 2004

Publications and Comments

Application Notes

• Using Genesys to Design Power Amplifiers, August 2003.
• Understanding Reference Planes for Device Packages, December 2002.
• Choosing a Grid for Empower Simulation. November 2001.
• Low Noise Amplifier for 1900 MHZ Applications, February 2001.

Articles

• 2001-2002 CAD Benchmark, Microwave Engineering Europe, March 2002. Original Benchmark specifications, along with Eagleware's submitted simulation results
• Exploiting Filter Symmetry, Randy Rhea, Microwave Journal, May 2001
• High-Q Resonators on FR4, Randall W. Rhea, Applied Microwave & Wireless, Oct 1999
• Designing a Low-Noise VCO on FR4, Randall W. Rhea, RF Design, Sept 1999
• Integrated Software for Electromagnetic Simulation, Rob Lefebvre, Microwave Journal, November 1998, pp. 136-140.

Related Publications

• CAD Techniques Applied to LTCC Technology, Randy Rhea, MTT/IMS 2000, June 2000
• Non-Resonant Electromagnetic Simulation of Some Resonant Planar Circuits (Presentation), Yuri Shlepnev, April 2000. Also available: Original PDF Paper
• Advanced Design Techniques From Synthesis Through Test: A 900 MHz VCO, Randall W. Rhea, 1999 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium & Exhibition, Microwave Application & Product Seminars. (Also available, MTT3.SCH example file for Genesys/EM V6.5B.)
• Extension of the Method of Lines for Planar 3D Structures, Yuri O. Shlepnev, Proceedings of the 15th Annual Review of Progress in Applied Computational Electromagnetics (ACES '99), Monterey, CA, 1999.
• A New EM Simulator of Passive MIC Elements, Yuri O. Shlepnev, Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Antennas, Radiocommunication Systems and Means (ICARSM'99), Voronezh, 1999.
• A new generalized de-embedding method for numerical electromagnetic analysis, Yuri O. Shlepnev, Proceedings of the 14th Annual Review of Progress in Applied Computational Electromagnetics (ACES '98), Monterey, CA, 1998.
• Electrodynamics of Waveguiding Structures of Axisymmetrical Microwave Integrated Circuits, A. B. Mironov, N. I. Platanov and Yu. O. Shlepnev, Radiotekhnika i elektronika, No. 2, 1990, pp. 281-286.